SOUND ON SOUND
In these days of multi-GHz CPUs, the silent music PC is but a memory, drowned out by cooling-fan noise. But we can have the speed without all that racket, according to a German PC manufacturer...
With big changes afoot for Windows and PCs in the medium term, we get the inside track on what they could mean for musicians.
We investigate two new technologies from Microsoft that could change the way we use audio and video for entertainment; plus, as video becomes more pervasive in the music technology market, we look at some of the latest announcements from NAB.
We explore the idea of understanding technology in terms of layers and abstractions, and how this makes it possible for a protocol like MIDI to be communicated via USB, Firewire and even Bluetooth.
We look at the reliability of hard drives and investigate some innovative video-related products from Sony, which could soon be commonplace in the audio world.
While Linux might not be ready to run your entire studio just yet, it could provide an ideal solution for a cheap additional computer to handle your everyday computing tasks, keeping the music computer safely isolated.
The shape of the music-technology market changed dramatically in 2002, with the two largest German music software companies gaining new ownership from American corporations. Have Steinberg reached the summit with Pinnacle?
When you launch a new product, it's always best to have a clear message. You buy a dishwasher because you hate washing up, you buy a car because you can't walk 20 miles to work, or wait for the bus that comes once a week; and you buy a Microsoft Smart Display because, um...
There are many reasons why the digital delivery of media hasn't replaced traditional physical methods, but could one reason be that files just aren't very collectable?
BeOS is arguably the most promising independent multimedia OS of recent years - but, sadly, innovation and quality have not been enough to guarantee its future...